How Do I Make My Songs Build Up?

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johnnyboner

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Hi guys, I’ve been producing for about a year now, and there’s this ONE THING that is really frustrating: It seems that I can make a good LOOP (4 or 8 bars) and not a good SONG. I know that there are supposed to be ups and downs in a song but a lot of times my beats are just made up of an intro loop, verse loop, hook loop and so on, with barely any transitions between these. :confused: I want my songs to build up (musically, rather than throwing in an fx near the end of each section) throughout the verse so it reaches a high point at the hook. Does anybody know how I can do this? Or what I should learn/read? Thanks!!
 
I kinda have this problem as well. but ive learned to explore new ideas but to tweak just enough to fit a song. It could range from snare build ups, to FXs coming in and dropping everything out with a big Fat Reverb Clap to signify the next coming hook, Or u can just take the time to learn some simple editing techniques, like the tape/rewind effect, and then chop the next bar with the speed effect. Also you can maybe add some kinda instrument to sync with that speed up chop effect. THe ONE THING i noticed though in songs that have that good build up effect alike sound is that the build up may just be a simple routine fx thats very clear but its the very first Beat of the next Bar after the transition that has that Bigger Oomph on that kick(or whatever else) thats probably layered with crashes or fx Kicks or just something that spices it up which can kind of leave the listener to not think about the transition as much. If any one else has anything to add or more ideas id like to know them as well. this is just my 2 cents.
 
A few tips:

Volume- Either raise the volume of the parts you want built up, or layer more instruments to give it a fuller sound (which coincidentally raises the volume).

Transition sounds- Things like cymbals, reverse cymbals, drum rolls, arpeggios, bass fills, things like that are pretty good segues into the next section.

Basically anything that masks that little bit of time between one section and the next.

That's all I know of, I'm interested in this too.
 
Thanks for the replies guys! So far I’ve only been using the drums to transition between different sections by either moving them forward or stopping the pace, if you know what I mean. I haven’t thought of using larger kicks yet ha ha but that’s a good idea. But I’m not sure how I can use melodies to let the song gradually build up throughout the verses, hit a high point at the hook, then come back down again for the next verse, does anyone know how to do this!? Because if the song builds up with the melody, then the transition effects (drums, reverse cymbals, etc) will sound a lot ****ing doper.
 
Learn how to make tension and release.

Doesn't have to be from the melody necessarily.

A good example I always thought was Nuthing But A G Thang.

Listen to the strings and how they build up every time verses are changing.
 
Let me recommend the 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th chords in the scale. If you were in C these Chords would be Dmin Emin F G. when playing these chords or roots in a scale they seam to long for the root. 1 or 6 (C and/or A min.) so a simple build up could be " F, G, " Conclusion Amin or C. Obviously you may want to make it longer and more interesting.
 
By giving it POWER! F*kin' vooodooo magic mann...

ha, cracked myself up with that...

But nah, giving a certain noise that you want to build up more power is a good description i think. Decide on the noise, or make 1 that you want to have more power/presence and think of a way to give it that quality that you're after.

Dunno, maybe that's a bit cryptic but it's how i look at stuff.
 
I think the easiest way to create a build up, or climax, is to breakdown your song from the start and build it up to the hook.

In other words, lets say your song consists of drums, bass, keys, horns, and strings.

Try starting each verse with just the drums and bass for 4 bars. Then bring in the keys for the next 4 bars. Then bring in the horn section and let that play all together for the next 8 bars until you get to the hook. At that point, the strings will come in and play the hook for 8 bars. Then back to the drums/bass again to start the next verse. And keep cycling like that throughout the song, or if you add a bridge somewhere too.

This way it keeps building up to the sweet spot/hook and prevents monotony.

The key to doing it like that though is to make sure each track can stand on its own and sound good. Sometimes you have two tracks like bass and keys that sound good together, but if you were just going to play the bassline by itself with the drums it could sound weak.

When arranging this way, I like to build the sound in the same steps as I plan to arrange it. So I would start doing the drums and bass first and make sure they are really tight together by themselves. Then add the keys and make sure that sounds good together without needing the horns or strings on top to make it sound good. And so forth building up the track to the strings.

And then periodically you can add fill-ins where necessary to spice it up a bit if you want.

A great example of what I'm talking about is Timbalands "Its Your Night". Great beat that starts out simple, and builds to an amazing climax of synths at the end.
 
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Heres a good idea, its what I did to get me started and it works to this day.

Make a loop, brutal, full of sound and good to fit in a song.

Decide if it is a chorus or verse sound.

Start to strip down the loop, like if your lead has a lot of movement in it, make another pattern that is a copy of the lead then take a few notes away, then make another and put a few notes back and again and again until you have got to the first melody.

With the drums just make sure you use the same sounds from the main loop but where you stripped down the lead lines or bass, makes simpler drums to go over the top, maybe a little drum bit before the chorus or verse breaks out.

Once youve got into doing this youll find yourself going "ahh now if i put a couple of kicks here or a couple of notes here this will sound good" and before you know it youll have a song.

Dont be down cause you cant write a song, a good verse of chorus is what most people cant ever get.
 
Wow thanks for the replies guys all this info is really helpful. Now I'll just have to find a way to implement this ha ha. what I've been trying to do for the past few days is break down the song to just drums/bass then put a fill (or some transition fx) at every four bars followed by a crash/impact sound at the start of the next four bars and adding in a new sound every time I do that. I’ve also been using a lot of automation, such as lowering the volume and raising the reverb amount when something is about to go away, which works alright. But I think I should get back to studying music theory/composition to build something up with the “music” and make all the parts work together instead just relying on the effects and such, you guys agree?
 
johnnyboner said:
Wow thanks for the replies guys all this info is really helpful. Now I'll just have to find a way to implement this ha ha. what I've been trying to do for the past few days is break down the song to just drums/bass then put a fill (or some transition fx) at every four bars followed by a crash/impact sound at the start of the next four bars and adding in a new sound every time I do that. I’ve also been using a lot of automation, such as lowering the volume and raising the reverb amount when something is about to go away, which works alright. But I think I should get back to studying music theory/composition to build something up with the “music” and make all the parts work together instead just relying on the effects and such, you guys agree?
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definitely, effects and percussion will only get you so far. just adding a crash here and there helps, but isn't really enough usually to keep a listener intersted any more than if you didnt do it all. its all in the arrangement of the musical instrumentals, imo. try writing a completely different part for the hook than the verses like how rock and r&b music is arranged. thats really the best way to avoid monotony. you should try to write 3 different parts for every song - a verse, chorus, and bridge, and your songs will never be repetitive. instead of just adding sounds upon sounds over the same part trying to keep it interesting, come up with three different parts for each instruments, and make sure they transistion smoothly/naturally from one to the next. A lot of ppl today would take those 3 parts and make each its own song to get three songs out of it, but thats why alot of music today is repitive because its the same loop playing straight for 4 min. with just some other parts coming in and out over it.

Try this, find three songs you've already made that will fit together in transiston from one to the next, change tempo to all the same, and change key if you have to. Make one of the songs the verse, one the chorus, and one the bridge, and combine the three into one song. Thats what a real song is, its just a lot producers today might feel like thats cutting their production down by a third, where they could've sold three songs out of that material, instead of just one. But that one song would better than any of three by themselves.
 
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